Sheet handling device

ABSTRACT

A sheet handling device for changing the feed direction of a conveyed sheet. A hub secured axially on a rotatable shaft has a plurality of gripping members pivotable in different radial planes disposed thereabout. Each gripping member has a finger portion engageable with a cylindrical sheet guiding surface portion of the hub, and a camming portion engageable with a camming race on a stationary block. A garter spring biases each gripping finger toward the sheet guiding surface to grip the edge of the sheet therebetween. The camming portion and race bias each gripping finger away from the sheet guiding surface over a predetermined angular path. As the hub is rotated, the spring causes successive finger portions to grip the sheet and convey it along a curved path through a predetermined angle. Thereafter, the action of the race on the camming portion of successive fingers causes the sheet to be released in a predetermined exit direction.

[ll] 3,729,187 1 Apr. 24, 19 73 United State s Patent 91 Waibel v 1'SHEET HANDLING DEVICE Primary Examiner- EdWard A. Sroka Attorney-WarrenP. Kujawa et al.

lnventor: Helmut K. Waibel, San Leandro,

Calif.

Assignee: The Singer Company, New York,

' direction of a conveyed sheet. A hub secured axially [22] Fled: 7 Sept1971 on a rotatable shaft has a plurality of gripping mem- App], 1 1,45bers ivotable in different radial planes disposed thereahout. Eachgripping member has a finger portion cngageablc with a cylindrical sheetguiding surface portion of the hub, and a camming portion engageublewith a camming race on a stationary block. A garter spring biases eachgripping finger toward the sheet guiding surface to grip the edge of thesheet therebetween. The camming portion and race bias '[52] US. [5 l.B65 h 5/06, B65h 29/06 I [58] Field of Search...................

Int.

[56] References Cited each gripping finger away'from the sheet guidingsurface over a predetermined angular path. As the hub is rotated, thespring causes successive finger portions to 101/409 X grip the sheet andconvey it along a curved path 101/409 X a through a predetermined angle.Thereafter, the action 271/82 of the race on the camming portion ofsuccessive fingers causes the sheet to be released in a predeterminedexit direction.

s T m m N H u E m m T m m A m. m P mmqm S mLmm m m A .mwnn T mm om S885? D E 8387 T 1 .I. 9999 N HHHH U 5596 19, Claims, 8 Drawing FiguresPatented April 24, 1973 3,729,187

3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR.

. u mama %%dib@z BY Q WWW/A? Patented April 24, 1973 5 Sheets-Sheet 2SHEET HANDLING DEVICE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1 Field of theInvention This invention relates to sheet handling devices for conveyingflat flexible sheets along a desired multidirectional path. Moreparticularly, this invention relates to devices for changing thedirection of feed of such'conveyed sheets.

2. Description of the Prior-Art Many sheet feeding devices are knownwhich are employed in various machines to convey documents or similarflat flexible sheets along a desired feed path. In many applications, asheet feeding device is required which is capable of accepting a sheetalready being conveyed in a first direction and positively feeding it ina second direction different from the first direction. In someelectrostatic copiers, e.g. such as that disclosed in US. Pat. No.3,600,082 issued Aug. 17, 1971, a copy sheet turnaround station isutilized to positively feed a copy sheet, which is already traveling ina first direction past an image transfer station, upwardly and in areverse direction toward an image fusing station. While the copy sheetturnaround station disclosed in the referenced patent utilizes a vacuumdrum for liftingand reversing the feed direction of the copy sheet,other mechanisms are known in the art for accomplishing this sameresult. In addition, this and other similar types of sheet feedingdevices have been employed in a wide variety of other environments thancopy machines, such asdocument sorting devices,.paper coating machines,film threading devices, etc.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The invention comprises a sheet feeding deviceof the above-described type which is inexpensive to manufacture, highlyreliable in performance, and readily adaptable to a wide variety ofuses. The preferred embodiment includes a hub secured axially on arotatable shaft and having a substantially cylindrical sheet guidingsurface. A plurality of gripping members are pivotally mounted on thehub about the axis of the shaft in different substantiallyradial planes.Each gripping member has a finger portion with a surface engageable withthe sheet guiding surface for gripping a sheet therebetween and acamming portion engageable with acamming race on a stationary cammingblock. A garter spring coupled to each gripping member biases thegripping fingers toward the sheet guiding surface. The camming portionand race bias each gripping finger away from the sheet guiding surfaceover a predetermined angular path.

In operation, as the hub rotates, the garter spring causes successivefinger portions to grip the edge of an introduced sheet and convey italong a curved path through a predetermined angle. Thereafter, theaction of the race on the camming portion of successive fingers releasesthe sheet for further travel in the exit direction.

In an alternate embodiment, the hub and camming block are adjustablymounted to accommodate sheets of different widths.

For a further understanding of the nature and advantages oftheinvention, reference should be had to the ensuing detaileddescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view'of apreferred embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2--2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view, partially exploded, illustrating the hubassembly elements;

FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along line 4-4 of I DESCRIPTION OF THEPREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Turning now to the drawings, FIG. 1 illustrates apreferred embodiment of the invention which is supported in a main framegenerally indicated by the reference numeral 10 and having a pair ofside plates ll, 12 structurally interconnected by upper and lower frontbrace members l3, l4 and rear brace member 15 (shown in FIG. 2).Attached to lower front brace member 14 by means of screws 16 is anentrance platform 18 having a sheet squaring guide 19 for properlyaligning an entering sheet 20 which enters the preferred embodiment inthe direction of arrow 2l. Attached to upper. front brace member l3.bymeans of screws 22 is an exit platform 23 for supporting an exitingsheet.

Mounted in the rear of main frame 10 is a sheet handling device forpositively lifting and feeding flexible sheet 20 in an exit directionwhich is substantially the reverse of the entrance direction 21. Withreference to FIGS. 1 and 2, a shaft 25 is journaled in a pair ofbearings 26, 27 mounted in side plates 11, 12, respectively. A gear 28is secured to one end of shaft 24 forv providing power transfer from asuitable power source (not shown) to shafts 25 in order to rotate shaft25 and the elements secured thereto (described below) in the directionof arrows 29. l

Secured at both ends of shaft 25 by means of screws 31 tightened ontoaxially extending flats 32 are a pair of identical hub assemblies 35. Asbest seen in FIGS. 2 and 3, each hub assembly includes a hub 36 having asubstantially cylindrical body portion 37, a central annular portion 38and an inner annular portion39 having a knurled'sheet guiding surface40. Extending radially from a plurality of equiangularly disposedlocations on the outer surface of annular portion 38 are a number ofirregularly shaped boss members 41 each having a pivot pin bore 42 and aradial slot 43 which extends into annular portion 38. Hub 36 may beconstructed by molding from a plastic material, machining from asuitable metal (e.g., aluminum) or in any other manner known to thoseskilled in the art.

Pivotally mounted in each slot 43 is a gripping member 44 having a bore45 for receiving a pivot pin 46 and an aperture 47 for accommodating agarter spring 48. Each gripping member 44 has a finger portion 50engageable with knurled surface 40 for gripping the edge portion of asheet therebetween, and a camming portion 52 engageable with a cammingsurface described below. Identical gripping members 44 are preferablystamped from a suitable material (e.g. steel or plastic).

To assemble, each gripping member 44 is positioned in the correspondingslot 43 with bore 45 aligned with pivot pin bore 42, after each pivotpin 46 is inserted into the aligned bores. Each pivot pin 46 may belocked in place by burgeoning or burring both ends. After all grippingmembers 44 have been pivotally mounted, garter spring 48 is passedthrough spring aperture 47, and the ends of garter spring 48 are securedtogether. It is noted that, when assembled, garter spring 48 istensioned sufficiently to bias each gripping member 44 inwardly towardthe body axis of hub 36 to engagement with knurled surface49 of innerannular portion 39.

After assembly, each hub assembly 35 is placed on shaft 25 in the facingarrangement illustrated, along with an annular sheet guiding member 55,this latter element being secured to shaft 25 for rotation therewith.Shaft'25 is next journaled into bearings 26, 27. Each hub assembly 35 isthen adjustedso that camming portions 52 of gripping members 44 areengageable with acarnmingrace 58 in one of a pair of I camming blocks60, 61 mounted on side plates 1 1, 12, respectively. After adjustment,each hub assembly is locked onto shaft 25 by tightening screw 31 ontoflat 32.

As best shown in FIG. 4, for camming block 61, each camming race 58 hasa lead in segment 63, a central segment of constant radius 64 and a leadout segment 3 65. In the preferred embodiment each camming block 60,61,and hub assemblies 35 are so arranged that the finger portion 50 of eachgripping member 44 is gradually retracted from sheet guiding surface 40as the camming portion 52 rides along lead in segment 63. As cammingportion 52 rides along central segment 64, finger portion 50 ismaintained in a non-gripping position away from surface. 40. As cammingportion 52 rides along lead out segment 65, finger portion 50 isgradually returned to a gripping position with surface 40 by garterspring 48.

As will now be evident, in an assemblieddevice, as

' provided for conveying sheet along this second direction to remotelocations.

Annular sheet guiding member 55 is utilized in the preferred embodimentfor preventing sheet 20 from wrinkling or buckling along angular path0,. In some applications of the invention, sheet 20 may have suchsufficient thickness or width that wrinkling or buckling is not asignificant problem. In such applications,

. 39 is provided with a groove for snugly receiving O-ring shaft 25 andhub assembly 35 are rotated by gear 28,

successive finger portions are maintained in gripping relation withknurled surface 40 by garter spring 48 along angular path 0 aregradually retracted from surface 40 by camming race segment 63 alongangular path 0,, are maintained in a retracted position by cammingsegment 64 along angular path 0 and are gradually returned to the.initial gripping relation by garter spring 48 along angular path0,..Thus, when a properly sized sheet 20 is fed into the unit alongentrance platform 18, the edges of sheet 20 are gradually grippedbetween successive finger portions 50 and surface 40 along path 0,.Along path 0, sheet 20 is progressively raised and rotated about theaxis of shaft 25 by the clenching action'of finger portions 50 andsurface 40. Along path 0, the edges of sheet 20 are gradually releasedand sheet 20 is progressively conveyed along exit platform 23 in asubstantially reverse direction from entrance direction 21 by thepositive propulsion afforded by theclenched finger portions 50 acting onthe edges of the rearward portions of sheet 20. If desired, additionalsheet conveying devices may be 40". If desired, O-ring 40, may also becemented in place.

In some applications, it may be necessary to handle sheets of widelydiffering widths. In such applications, it is highly desirable toprovide either one or both hub assemblies 35 and camming blocks 60, 61with the adjustable feature shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 for the righthandportion of the unit. As seen in these figures, flat 32 is extendedtoward the center of shaft 25 to permit a greater axial adjustment ofhub assembly 35 Body portion 37 of hub 36 is provided with an annulargroove 69 sized to accommodate the upper central wall portion 70 of amovable support member 71 to which camming block 61 is attached. Supportmember 71 is provided with a pair of lower rongues 72, 73 which areslidably received in similarly shaped tracks cut into a base plate 76substantially parallel to shaft 25.

As will now be evident, as hub assembly 35 is adjusted along shaft 25,support member 71 follows the axial motion of hub assembly 35, therebymaintaining the relation between camming portion 52 of each grippingmember 44 and race 58 of camming block 61. In this way, the workingwidth of the sheet handling device may be easily varied to accommodatesheets of differing widths. If desired, other known locking arrangementsthan screw 31 and flat 32 may be provided for hub assembly 35.

Sheet handling devices constructed according to the above-describedinvention have been found to provide excellent results with flexiblesheets of widely varying types and widths. Because of the relativelysmall number of working elements and the fact that each hub assembly isconstructed from identical elements, such devices are inexpensive tomanufacture and capable of prolonged use without mechanical failure.

While the foregoing provides a full disclosure of the preferredembodiments of the invention, it is understood that variousmodifications, alternate constructions, and equivalents may be employedwithout departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Forexample, gripping members 44 and camming blocks 60, 61 may be designedso that the biasing roles of garter spring 48 and race 58 are reversed.In addition, the shape of race 58 may be altered to provide angularpaths 6, 0 of different sizes than that illustrated.

Therefore, the above description and illustrations should not beconstrued as limiting the scope of the invention which is solely definedby the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A sheet handling device comprising:

. a frame;

' a rotatable shaft journaled in said frame;

a hub mounted on said shaft for rotation therewith, said hub having asubstantially cylindrical sheet guiding surface;

a plurality of gripping members pivotally mounted on said hub about theaxis of said shaft in different substantially radial pivotal planes,each gripping member having a finger portion with a surface engageablewith said sheet guiding surface for gripping a sheet therebetween;

first means for biasing said gripping fingers toward said sheet guidingsurface over a first predetermined angular path; and

second means for biasing said gripping fingers away from said sheetguiding surface over a second predetermined angular path,

said first means including a single spring disposed about said hub andcoupled to each of said gripping members.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein each of said gripping members isprovided with an aperture inboard of the pivotal axis and said singlespring is disposed within each of one said apertures.

3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said hub is provided with an axiallyadjustable means for mounting said hub on said shaft and furtherincluding means for adjustably mounting said second bias means along apath parallel to said shaft.

I 4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said second means comprises astationary camming block having a camming race defining said secondpredetermined angular path and each of said gripping members is providedwith a camming portion engageable with said camming race.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said camming race comprises theinner surface of said camming block.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein saidhub is provided with an axiallyadjustable mounting means for mounting said hub on said shaft andfurther including means for adjustably mounting said camming block alonga path parallel to said shaft.

7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said camming block mounting meansincludes a track for defining said path and a tongue member slidablydisposed on said track.

8. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said hub is provided witha'plurality of radially extending slotted boss members each having apivot pin bore, and each of said gripping members is provided with acorresponding bore and positioned in a different one of said slottedboss members with said bores aligned, and further including a pluralityof pivot pins each secured in a different one of said pivot pin bores.

9. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a substantiallycylindrical sheet guiding member secured inboard of said hub on saidshaft for rotation therewith.

10. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a curved sheet deflectormounting adjacent said sheet guiding surface.

l l. A sheet handling device comprising:

a frame;

a rotatable shaft journaled in said frame;

a pair of hubs mounted on said shaft, each said hub having asubstantially cylindrical sheet guiding surface;

a plurality of gripping members each pivotally mounted on different onesof said hubs about the axis of said shaft in substantially radialpivotal planes, each gripping member having a finger portion with asurface engagable with one of said sheet guiding surfaces for gripping asheet therebetween;

first means for biasing said gripping fingers toward said sheet guidingsurfaces over a first predetermined angular path;

second means for biasing said gripping fingersaway from said sheetguiding surfaces over a second predetermined angular path; and

said first means comprising a pair of springs each disposed about adifferent one of said hubs and coupled to each of said gripping membersmounted on said different one of said hubs.

12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein each of said gripping members oneach one of said hubs is provided with an aperture inboard of thepivotal axis and each said spring is disposed within one of saidapertures in said gripping members mounted on the associated hub.

13'. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein at least one of said hubs isprovided with an axially adjustable means i for mounting said hub onsaid shaft and further including means for adjustably mounting saidsecond bias means along a path parallel to said shaft.

14. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein said second means comprises a pairof stationary camming blocks each mounted adjacent a different one ofsaid hubs and each having a camming race defining said secondpredetermined angular path, and wherein each of said gripping members isprovided with a camming portion engageable with said camming race ofsaid adjacent camming block.

15. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein each of said camming racescomprises the inner surface of the associated camming block.

16. The apparatus of claim 14 wherein at least one of said hubs isprovided with an axially adjustable mounting means for mounting said hubon said shaft, and further including means for adjustably mounting saidadjacent camming block along a path substantially parallel to saidshaft. 7

17. The apparatus of claim 16 wherein said camming block mounting meansincludes a track for defining said path and a tongue member slidablydisposed on said track.

18. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein each of said hubs is provided witha plurality of radially extending slotted boss members each having apivot pin bore, and each of said gripping members is provided with acorresponding bore and positioned in a different one of saidslotted bossmembers with said bores aligned, and further including a plurality ofpivot pins each secured in a different one of said Pivot pin bores. I

19. The apparatus of claim 11 further including a substantiallycylindrical sheet guiding member secured between said hubs on said shaftfor rotation therewith.

1. A sheet handling device comprising: a frame; a rotatable shaftjournaled in said frame; a hub mounted on said shaft for rotationtherewith, said hub having a substantially cylindrical sheet guidingsurface; a plurality of gripping members pivotally mounted on said hubabout the axis of said shaft in different substantially radial pivotalplanes, each gripping member having a finger portion with a surfaceengageable with said sheet guiding surface for gripping a sheettherebetween; first means for biasing said gripping fingers toward saidsheet guiding surface over a first predetermined angular path; andsecond means for biasing said gripping fingers away from said sheetguiding surface over a second predetermined angular path, said firstmeans including a single spring disposed about said hub and coupled toeach of said gripping members.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein eachof said gripping members is provided with an aperture inboard of thepivotal axis and said single spring is disposed within each of one saidapertures.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said hub is provided withan axially adjustable means for mounting said hub on said shaft andfurther including means for adjustably mounting said second bias meansalong a path parallel to sAid shaft.
 4. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinsaid second means comprises a stationary camming block having a cammingrace defining said second predetermined angular path and each of saidgripping members is provided with a camming portion engageable with saidcamming race.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said camming racecomprises the inner surface of said camming block.
 6. The apparatus ofclaim 4 wherein said hub is provided with an axially adjustable mountingmeans for mounting said hub on said shaft and further including meansfor adjustably mounting said camming block along a path parallel to saidshaft.
 7. The apparatus of claim 6 wherein said camming block mountingmeans includes a track for defining said path and a tongue memberslidably disposed on said track.
 8. The apparatus of claim 1 whereinsaid hub is provided with a plurality of radially extending slotted bossmembers each having a pivot pin bore, and each of said gripping membersis provided with a corresponding bore and positioned in a different oneof said slotted boss members with said bores aligned, and furtherincluding a plurality of pivot pins each secured in a different one ofsaid pivot pin bores.
 9. The apparatus of claim 1 further including asubstantially cylindrical sheet guiding member secured inboard of saidhub on said shaft for rotation therewith.
 10. The apparatus of claim 1further including a curved sheet deflector mounting adjacent said sheetguiding surface.
 11. A sheet handling device comprising: a frame; arotatable shaft journaled in said frame; a pair of hubs mounted on saidshaft, each said hub having a substantially cylindrical sheet guidingsurface; a plurality of gripping members each pivotally mounted ondifferent ones of said hubs about the axis of said shaft insubstantially radial pivotal planes, each gripping member having afinger portion with a surface engagable with one of said sheet guidingsurfaces for gripping a sheet therebetween; first means for biasing saidgripping fingers toward said sheet guiding surfaces over a firstpredetermined angular path; second means for biasing said grippingfingers away from said sheet guiding surfaces over a secondpredetermined angular path; and said first means comprising a pair ofsprings each disposed about a different one of said hubs and coupled toeach of said gripping members mounted on said different one of saidhubs.
 12. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein each of said grippingmembers on each one of said hubs is provided with an aperture inboard ofthe pivotal axis and each said spring is disposed within one of saidapertures in said gripping members mounted on the associated hub. 13.The apparatus of claim 11 wherein at least one of said hubs is providedwith an axially adjustable means for mounting said hub on said shaft andfurther including means for adjustably mounting said second bias meansalong a path parallel to said shaft.
 14. The apparatus of claim 11wherein said second means comprises a pair of stationary camming blockseach mounted adjacent a different one of said hubs and each having acamming race defining said second predetermined angular path, andwherein each of said gripping members is provided with a camming portionengageable with said camming race of said adjacent camming block. 15.The apparatus of claim 14 wherein each of said camming races comprisesthe inner surface of the associated camming block.
 16. The apparatus ofclaim 14 wherein at least one of said hubs is provided with an axiallyadjustable mounting means for mounting said hub on said shaft, andfurther including means for adjustably mounting said adjacent cammingblock along a path substantially parallel to said shaft.
 17. Theapparatus of claim 16 wherein said camming block mounting means includesa track for defining said path and a tongue member slidably disposed onsaid track.
 18. The apparatus of claim 11 wherein each of said hubs isprovided with a plurality of radially extending slotted boss memberseach having a pivot pin bore, and each of said gripping members isprovided with a corresponding bore and positioned in a different one ofsaid slotted boss members with said bores aligned, and further includinga plurality of pivot pins each secured in a different one of said pivotpin bores.
 19. The apparatus of claim 11 further including asubstantially cylindrical sheet guiding member secured between said hubson said shaft for rotation therewith.